#noticed viktor doesn't wear the leg brace til act 2 and thought hmm jayce Builds Things

[lesbicosmos-writes]

i have 7 wips yet i wrote an entirely new fic woah what a surprise

anyway, my first arcane fic!!

pairing: jayce & viktor (can be read as platonic or romantic but there are hints at viktor having feelings)

rating: G

summary: Viktor was so used to people either just ignoring him or treating him like he constantly needed help. They never asked if he needed it, and it always felt condescending, as if just because his leg didn’t work properly, he couldn’t navigate life on his own – despite the fact he had literally fought his way out of the undercity and into the academy alone. But then there was Jayce, who on top of being a brilliant mind and a sweet person, treated his disability with genuine care, and asked if he needed help, and knew he was more than capable of so many things but just needed a little extra hand sometimes. Viktor loved him.

notes: since it's my first thing for the fandom, pls lmk if anything seems ooc i always wanna try and get these as in character as possible 😭

on ao3!!

oh but you're good to me, baby

No one had ever loved Viktor like Jayce Talis did.

From the day they met, there had always been a strange sort of spark between them, a companionship and an understanding despite the differences in both of their lives. Obviously, it wasn’t always understanding – sometimes Jayce would make unintentionally ignorant comments about the Undercity and its people that Viktor would have to educate him on, and quite often Viktor would intentionally insult Pilties and Jayce would…mostly agree with him, actually. He wouldn’t outwardly deny most of them even if he didn’t share the same view, anyway; he knew Viktor absolutely had a right to hate them for the conditions he had to grow up in.

Over six years, they’d become such close partners that it was rare that one would be seen without the other – except on the occasion Jayce had to give a speech to the council, or attend one of their fancy galas. Jayce was Piltover’s golden boy, and while both he and Viktor were angry that Viktor rarely got any credit for his work on Hextech, Viktor didn’t exactly want the level of attention Jayce seemed to be constantly getting. He wanted to be remembered for his work, not praised like some sort of god. He could tell Jayce felt the same – he didn’t particularly enjoy being the centre of attention, but he could cope with it better than Viktor. He always was the more outwardly social of the two.

With the way Jayce was constantly celebrated and showered with attention, it was nice to have days like the one they were currently having – both in their lab, working on their current Hextech project, doing what both of them loved most and feeling like they were still just barely graduated students of the academy sneaking around doing experiments Professor Heimerdinger wouldn’t approve of.

Viktor looked up from his desk, and just sat watching Jayce for a few minutes. He was on the opposite side of the lab, standing in front of the chalkboard which was so full of notes that no one except for the two of them would ever be able to decipher what they were referring to. Jayce had one arm folded, the other with his chin in his hand in concentration, mumbling to himself as he tried to figure out an equation.

In his staring, he found himself thinking back to their early days as partners, only a few months after they managed to prove Hextech could actually work. They’d been given permission by the council to continue their studies and experiments, and were given a proper laboratory in the academy in which they could conduct them.

The day they moved into the lab had been stressful; moving books and papers and equipment that had previously been in Jayce’s old workshop – which the Kirammans had kindly been keeping safe for him. The constant moving had put a lot of physical strain on Viktor’s leg, and he all but collapsed into one of the lab benches when they finally made the last journey of boxes.

He’d worn a compression brace on his right leg for as long as he could remember. He rarely bothered to take it off unless he was showering, or it needed to be cleaned. Since it was under his trousers, he didn’t have to bother taking it off before bed every night. And it was usually comfortable enough.

It did tend to become irritating when he’d been on his feet for a while, though. It became sweaty and overwhelming and by that point, he’d rather take the pain.

He leaned down to lift up the leg of his trousers to take the brace off, but immediately winced as he leaned forwards, pain now spiking in his lower back. He had the cane, which definitely helped, but even with it, he often still got pretty severe back pain due to his uneven walking. He couldn’t escape. He hated that it was something he was used to.

“Do you want a hand with that?” Jayce asked, putting down the scissors he was using to cut open one of the boxes and walking over to him.

“No, no, I can manage,” Viktor replied, a little too harshly.

He was too used to people thinking he was broken and couldn’t do simple things.

“I know you can, V,” Jayce said, not offended or surprised by his tone in the slightest, “but it’s hurting your back.”

“It’s not,” Viktor insisted.

“I could hear you wincing from over there. I can help if you want.”

Viktor gave in, leaning back on the bench and giving his back a little relief.

“Thank you,” Viktor sighed.

Jayce knelt on the ground next to him, lifting his trouser leg up and gently pulling the brace down his leg. Viktor didn’t think they’d ever been so physically close before, but he couldn’t say he minded it.

“You didn’t have to do all of that heavy lifting, you know? I could’ve done it,” Jayce said.

“I would have felt useless if I was just sitting around here all day.”

“You aren’t useless,” Jayce reassured.

“I know. I was fine, though. I’m very used to feeling like this at the end of the day, Jayce. It’s kind of what comes with chronic pain.”

“If you’re sure. Obviously I know you know your limits better than I do.”

“I am. Believe me, moving helps sometimes.”

“Okay. I’m always here if you need a hand though, yeah? You just gotta ask.”

“Thank you.”

Viktor was so used to people just ignoring him; and if they did acknowledge him they usually seemed intent on helping, though they didn’t ask if he needed it. He’d been approached by strangers while out in public who put their arm around him to try and stabilise him when his limp was more pronounced, and he was leaning on his cane more than usual. He knew at heart they were just trying to help, but it always felt condescending, as if just because his leg didn’t work properly, he couldn’t navigate life on his own – despite the fact he had literally fought his way out of the undercity and into the academy alone. To have someone like Jayce who genuinely cared, who wanted to help, who asked if he needed it and only gave it if he did, made his heart warm. He was very glad the man wasn’t exiled from Piltover those few months ago.

“Do you have to do this every night?” Jayce asked, handing the elasticated fabric back to Viktor.

“I don’t take it off to sleep often. It’s not the most uncomfortable thing in the world, it’s just…getting itchy right now.”

“I didn’t even realise you were meant to keep it on for so long.”

“I only really need it on when I’m putting pressure on it, it’s not like it’s on there to help it heal or anything. I wish it could do that. But, it’s effort to take it off so I usually just don’t, unless it’s really necessary, like washing.”

“Well if you ever want me to do this again, just say, yeah? Your room’s right next to mine, it really won’t be a big deal. I’ll always help you. Only if you want it, of course.”

That was the other part of the deal they struck with the council – while Jayce’s place at the Academy had not been reinstated, he had been given a room there next door to Viktor’s in order to be closer to their lab rather than several blocks away.

After that day, it became almost a routine. Viktor still didn’t take the brace off all the time, but he did so more often, and Jayce would help him if it was getting uncomfortable. At first it started as something that only really happened if the pain in Viktor’s back was bad, but then it became a sort of ritual and Jayce was always the one who did it – even when the pain started getting somehow worse a year or so later and he had to switch from the compression brace to a structured metal one that he had to wear over his trousers and take off every night. It was more complex to operate than what was previously an extravagant sock, but Jayce did it anyway. And it was never out of obligation, or because he thought Viktor couldn’t, or because he got some strange selfish sense of charity from doing so, but because Jayce genuinely cared and wanted to.

It also never felt like a big thing; it was never the topic of conversation during their nightly routine, it just became what they did every night. They would talk about other things, whether recounting the findings of the day in terms of their experiments or gossiping about other students at the academy they had met on occasion, or recalling childhood memories. Viktor showed him the toy boat he’d built when he was a child and kept in a drawer ever since, and Jayce was enamoured by the mechanics of it. Viktor could also tell he was intrigued by the engineering of the brace itself, albeit fairly simple in comparison to the technology they were working on – ever the scientist, was Jayce Talis.

After Jayce had finished figuring out his equation on the chalkboard – and loudly cheered when he finally worked it out, since he’d been trying for a few days now – the two of them decided to turn in for the night. It was getting late, and Jayce had to go and update Councillor Medarda and Professor Heimerdinger about their current progress early the next day.

So, they headed out of the lab, saying goodnight to Sky – a girl Viktor had known when he was a child who had become their assistant a few years prior – before heading towards Viktor’s room.

As usual, Jayce sat on the chair at the foot of the bed while Viktor sat on the edge, and Jayce leaned down to undo the buckles on the back of Viktor’s leg and slide the brace off his foot. It was always so strangely intimate, but neither of them had ever really brought it up. They’d become such close friends over the last six years, it was almost as though they’d known each other all their lives, so nothing was weird or too much for either of them. By now, he wouldn’t have it any other way. There was no Hextech without both him and Jayce. There was no Viktor without Jayce, anymore.

He'd been so supportive over the last few years, since Viktor’s mobility started to decline even further. He’d been there when Viktor needed him physically, to hold on to while they walked through the street, but more than that, he’d been there to give Viktor a distraction. They’d achieved their best progress in their science when they were intently focused to stop Viktor from spiralling about everything his condition meant he couldn’t do. Jayce was always there to remind him what he could – that his mind, even when not paired with his partner’s, was utterly brilliant.

“I’ll probably head back to the lab pretty early tomorrow,” Viktor said as Jayce stood the brace up against the bedside table, next to his crutch. “So good luck with the Professor and Councillor Medarda.”

“Thanks. I’m sure it’ll all go great, though. We’re making good development with it.”

“Well that’s definitely good, Mr. Man of Progress,” Viktor teased.

“Shut up. ‘Night, V.”

“Goodnight, Jayce.”

With that, Jayce left the room and closed the door behind him.

Viktor stayed still for a while, just listening. He heard Jayce’s footsteps moving away from his bedroom door, but he was definitely heading back towards the lab, not towards his own room. His guess was confirmed when he heard mumbling. One voice was definitely Jayce, the other Sky. Then, he heard Sky’s lighter footsteps pass his door in the opposite direction.

Jayce had been heading back to the lab late at night often lately, and Viktor knew he was working on something in secret, but every time Viktor had brought it up, Jayce denied it, claiming he was only going back to tidy up before going to bed himself.

Viktor had a bad enough sleep schedule himself to know that most of the time when Jayce’s footsteps finally retreated back down the corridor, far too much time had passed for him to have just been tidying up.

He supposed he would find out eventually. He had enough trust in Jayce that the reason for him keeping it secret wasn’t malicious, or because he was doing anything against their goal with Hextech. So, he tried to clear his mind, changed into his pyjamas and attempted to sleep.

A month or so later, Viktor was sitting at his desk in the lab, his magnifying goggles on as he analysed a hex crystal that was suspended on a small platform. They had successfully stabilised some, but there were strange behaviours in some of them, as if they had more Arcane energy than others. Before they could put the crystals to use in inventions for the public, they had to ensure they had a way of stabilising all of them. Perhaps it was something in the runic patterns-

Viktor’s thoughts were interrupted when the lab door burst open and Jayce came in, beaming. Victor spun around in his chair to face him.

“Are you alright, Jayce? Did something happen down in the forge?”

“No, I just have a surprise for you,” Jayce replied.

“Really? What is it?”

“You’ll see later.”

He refused to say anything else about it, so Viktor got back to work immediately after relaying his current findings to his partner.

It turned out that later meant when they were heading to bed.

“I’ll meet you in your room!” Jayce shouted across the lab before disappearing out into the corridor, dashing towards the forge.

Viktor chuckled, filing away his report with the rest of them, and then headed over to Sky’s desk. She seemed to be poorly masking a giggle.

“Goodnight, Sky,” he said.

“’Night, Viktor. Hope you enjoy whatever it is Jayce has for you,” she smiled.

Viktor nodded and left the lab. It was clear that Sky suspected there was something more going on between him and Jayce, and if Viktor was honest, he didn’t blame her for her assumption. They certainly did act like an old married couple sometimes. And they constantly called each other partners in tones of voices that could easily be implying something more than lab partners. And then there was the whole Jayce going to Viktor’s room every night thing, and wow, did everyone around them think they were together? Funnily enough, Viktor didn’t really think he minded what they thought. Technically they were wrong, but it wasn’t like Viktor himself hadn’t entertained the possibility several times over the years. He simply assumed Jayce wasn’t into men. Which was fine.

Viktor sat himself down on the edge of his bed, awkwardly waiting for Jayce to return. In the meantime, he reached behind himself to unclasp his back brace and remove it, placing it beside his bed. He hated that he had to practically hold himself together with metal and plastic, all because his leg didn’t form correctly in the womb. What would he be doing if he didn’t have his condition? If he had full physical freedom?

He barely entertained the thought. It didn’t matter because it would never happen, unless Hextech managed to create a miracle. But what was the point in imagining anyway, when he had all he ever really wanted in life right in front of him. He was a scientist, using his mind and his inventions to make a difference in people’s lives, even if the effects weren’t totally evident yet in the people he wanted to help the most. And he had a partner he could never even have created in a dream – a man who shared his passions for science and invention and magic and supporting those who needed it.

He hated what he didn’t have, but was more than pleased with what he’d done with what he did.

At that moment, Jayce entered his bedroom, closing the door behind him.

“So, I may have been working on something,” he said, before turning to face Viktor and holding something out to him.

Viktor’s eyes widened as he realised what was in Jayce’s hands – a new leg brace.

“Jayce, what is this?”

“The project I’ve been working on! Sorry I didn’t tell you about it, I wanted it to be a surprise. The brace you’ve got now has got all those confusing buckles and shit, and you’ve told me enough times how uncomfortable it can get. I don’t know how you’re meant to deal with all that on your own when you’re already struggling, but I think I figured it out!”

Jayce reached out, flipping the brace over in Viktor’s hands, revealing something in the centre of it – a bright blue glowing vaguely spherical shape.

“A hexcrystal?”

“Yeah, I know we said we were gonna properly brainstorm ideas for them soon, but I hope you don’t mind I did this one. All you have to do to take it off is take the crystal out! It unclasps itself.”

Jayce demonstrated, plucking the crystal from its mini cage within the structure of the brace, and it instantly opened.

“Wanna try it out? It might need a few tweaks, obviously I’m not the best person to try it out.”

“Of course.”

Jayce smiles, kneeling down beside Viktor to unclasp and take off the old brace, replacing it with the new Hextech-imbued one.

“How’s that?” Jayce asked.

Viktor grabbed his crutch from beside his bed and stood up, pacing around the room a few times. He looked over at Jayce, who was staring expectantly in the same way he always did when they tested out something they both really hoped would work.

“So?”

“I think it’s better than the old one! It’s helping my leg but also, I can barely feel that it’s there,” Viktor noted, looking down at his leg to admire the craftsmanship.

“That’s another one of the features! The brace itself sooths the skin where it sits, so it shouldn’t get as uncomfortable for long-term wear,” Jayce explained.

Viktor looked up at him, a grin growing on his face.

“You, Jayce Talis, are a genius.”

He moved the few steps across the room it took to reach Jayce, and pulled him into a hug.

“Thank you,” he said, practically into Jayce’s shoulder due to their height difference.

“No problem,” Jayce replied, seeming relieved that Viktor liked it. Then he inhaled a little in a panic. “But I don’t want you to think I did this because I don’t wanna help you anymore, it’s not a burden or anything, I just know you don’t particularly like asking for help and it would just make life easier for you and-”

Viktor pulled away from the hug, regaining his balance with his crutch.

“Jayce. I know. Even just the fact you’ve done this for me told me that.”

Jayce smiled. The two of them headed back over to the bed, and Viktor reached down to test the release mechanism. It worked immediately, practically falling off his leg. He laughed a little at the ease of it all, lifting the brace up to really take a look at the details. There was a little cog engraved into the side of it – not unlike the one that had been the first thing touched by Hextech when they first got it working.

“Sentimental bastard,” Viktor chuckled.

“I thought it was fitting,” Jayce replied.

“Seriously though, Jayce, do you know how good this will be for people in the undercity? If we could adapt it, for different injuries and conditions, this could be huge!”

“Well, I have started some concepts for a spinal brace version, it shouldn’t be too difficult,” Jayce said.

“You are brilliant.”

“I guess now we just have to concentrate on fully stabilising every crystal that gets made, this is one of the only ones we’ve perfected so far.”

“We’ll get there. I think we’re getting close with that one.”

Their entire goal with Hextech had always been to improve lives, and if there was one thing Jayce Talis had proven he could do, it was just that. Not only was the entire city progressing because of Hextech’s work, Viktor was a living example of Jayce’s talent specifically – he certainly felt more fulfilled than he ever had before meeting Jayce, despite his declining health. He had someone who cared for him, he had a purpose, he was loved. And it made him feel so alive.